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Nate McMillan finalizing negotiations to be Pacers coach

McMillan, 51, has previous head coaching experience with the Seattle SuperSonics (2000-2005) and Portland Trail Blazers (2005-2012). In 12 seasons, McMillan had a 478-452 record and made five postseason appearances.

The Indiana Pacers’ search for a new coach appears to have extended only a few seats down the bench.

Nate McMillan, who served as associate head coach the past three seasons, is finalizing negotiations to become the new head coach, IndyStar confirmed with a league source on Saturday night. Yahoo Sports reported the story first. McMillan did not respond to requests for comment by IndyStar.

McMillan would replace Frank Vogel, whose contract was not renewed at the end of the season.

McMillan, 51, has previous head coaching experience with the Seattle SuperSonics (2000-05) and Portland Trail Blazers (2005-12). In 12 seasons, McMillan had a 478-452 record and made five postseason appearances. McMillan’s Portland ties with Kevin Pritchard, who was the Blazers’ general manager and now serves as the same capacity under Larry Bird, have continued to Indiana.

On May 5 when Bird, the Pacers' president of basketball operations, announced the dismissal of Vogel, he said the team needed a new voice, a coach to hold players accountable and get the roster to raise its level of play. It’s also no secret that Bird has wanted the team to truly embrace small ball in an effort to score more points.

McMillan has a reputation as a defensive-minded coach with an efficient offense. In Portland, McMillan’s teams were down-tempo and deliberate, never averaging more than 98.9 points per game and annually ranked near the bottom of the league in pace of play. However as a testament to his offense's production, five of the McMillan-led teams in Seattle and Portland ranked within the top 10 overall.

McMillan interviewed for the Sacramento Kings' head coaching position on May 6. Former Memphis coach Dave Joerger was hired to fill the position.